Coin-controlled lock



June 9, 1931. w. M. GLEASON I COIN CONTROLLED LOCK Filed Nov. 50, 1926 2Sheets-Sheet l Illll I N VEN TOR. W41 75/? /Z 61 Mam BY 9W6? 5 a: ATTORNEY W. M. GLEASON COIN CONTROLLED LOCK June 9,- 1931.

Filed Nov. 50, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEY Patented June 9, 1931.

rarest corn-CONTROLLED LOCK Application filed November 30, 1926. SerialNo. 151,696.

invention relates to a'loek arranged to berendered operative by and uponthe insertion of a coin,or the like, therein, and of:

a class wherein the coin itselfis utilized as 5 an essentialmechanicaltelementin a prlmary operation of the look. I

lock of the class described, wherebythe in-, sertion of a coin in thecoin inlet slot directly effects the fixed setting of a closure meansfor the slotbefore-thecoin assumes its operative relation to the lock.

Another object of the inventlon is to provide an improved andparticularly simple means for controlling the positioning of the closuremeans for the coin receiving slot.

The invention. possesses other'objects and features of advantage, someofwhich,with the foregoing, will beset forth inthe followingdescription ofthe preferredform 'of my invention which is illustrated in the drawingsaccompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to beunderstood,'however, that I do not limit myself to the 'showingsmade by.

adopt variations of the preferred form within the scope ofmy inventionas set forth in the claims'. Referring to said drawings, T I

Figure lisa'side' sectionalviewof a lock embodyingthe invention,with-the bolt thereof operatively disposed.

Figure 2 is a'slde View ofth'e lockwith the bolt in withdrawn position,portionsthereof illustrated,- the latch plate 8 arranged to elfecttheoperation of. alatch-bolt -9 and to be. independently operated fromoppositesides of the lock by and upon the appropriate-manual actuation.of mutually.independent: lneans such as 1 the spindles -11 and 12 shown.The lockniemarranged to h'ave'a-plate 23 demountablysethe said drawingsand description, as Imay.

lock 7 of my'invention comprises a movable bers are here shown mountedon a plate 13, i

which plate is arranged to be secured direct ly to a door 14: and servesas part of the lock casing. 'As here shown, the latch plate 8 isvertically slotted at the inner end therel of to provide an opening 16therethrough of; An object of the invention is to providea.

. member which is designed to be used in rendering the lock operativefromthe outside."-

less width than the diameter of a discate j of the door, ,a coin 17being here shown so utilized. Parallel and generally vertical op-i posedgrooves 18 are, provided in the slot side]. walls 19, such groovescooperating to. provide a passage whereby a coin may move into andthrough the slot thereto. v v

' Extending from the plate 13 at the top and sides thereof are spacingmembers, or posts, 21 and22 respectively, such members being curedthereto by means, of screws 24.. The

plates 13 and 23-arepreferably parallely disi posed and are sospacedthat the latch plate V S'slidably engages between them; Fixed on aeach of the plates 13fand 23 are upper and lower guide members 26 and 27respectively,

such members being disposed generally horizontally so that thelatchplate is guided for horizontal reciprocative movement. Fixed to thespindle 11 is an arm 28 which extends radially of the spindle axis andhas its" outer end;29 disposedin the latchplate opening 16 It will nowbe noted'that when no coin is disposed in andbetweenthelatchplategrooves 18, the arm 28 may be oscillated be" tween.a position again'stthe forward wall of'the opening 16 of the latch plateand a i stop 31, the latter being here shown provided on one oftherlower guide members 27.. .By

" means of a spring 82 operatively'disposed be tween the arm andapost'22, the "armis resiliently urged to maintain the forward positionin the opening 16, in which positionits end 29 isidisposedj forwardlyofthe grooves .18. 'When, h0wever, a coin is-disposed in the grooves '18,the retractive rotation of the arm will cause'the end 29 thereof toengagethe coin sothat a continuation of such rota-fi tion will retractthe latch plate andsowithin transverse relation:

. m" i V draw the bolt9 from its extended position, I

the cointhus becoming an operative part of the look for the boltwithdrawing operation. Means are provided for assuring the opera tivepositioning of the coin in the latch plate during the withdrawal of thelatter and for releasing the coin at the completion of such action.Accordingly, and as here shown, at least one ofthe lower guide members27 is provided with an inwardly extending portion 33 which is arrangedto slidably contact with the lower edge portion of the coin prior toandduring the retractive movement of latch plate, and terminating at such aplace that the coin is permitted to fall through and from the groovessubstantially at the completion of such movement and when the rotativeefiort is discontinued by the operator. In this manner, the coin isarranged to drop from the latch plate upon completewithdrawal of thebolt, while a partial withdrawal which will not eii'ect an unlocking ofthe door does not release the coin. It will now be noted that when thelatch plate is inlforward position, the coin passage through the latchplate defined by the grooves 18 is disposed in coplanar relation withthe axis of spindle 11, and that when the latch )late is so positioned,a coin is arranged to be inserted therein from above. 7 the plate 13 isa member 34 having extending vertically tl'ierethrough a coin' passage36 which registers with the coin passage'of the latch plate when thelatter is in forward position, it being noted that should a coin beinserted in the passage 36 when the latch plate is out of such position,its downward movement into an operative relation with the latch platewould be preventedby' means of its engagement with the top edges of theslot sidewalls 19. In this manner, the passage of a coin through thelatch plate in any other manner than one to" render the loci: operativeis positively prevented.

Mounted on the spindle 12 is a. member 37 having an arm 38, theextremityof which arm is arranged to maintain a position in the latch plateopening '16 forwardly of the rear wall 39 of such opening wherebyappropriate rotation thereof "will effect a withdrawal of the latchplate independently of the operative turning of the spindle 12. A spring41 is preferably operatively disposed between the arm 38 andthe plate 13whereby the arm may be held in forward position when the latchplate isretracted by means of the arm 28. It will be noted that by reason of theengagement of thearm 28 with the wall 30. of the latch plate, the spring32 also functions toresiliently resist withdrawal of the latch platebymeans of the arm 38. It will now be clear that the independent operationor the look by means of the appropriate rotation of either'of thespindles 11 and 12 is provided for, but that the former requires the useof f ac'oin, whereas the latter is operable at all Fixed to 7 times;accordingly, since the lock is particularly designed for use whereingress through a door requires the deposit of a coin and free egress isto be permitted, the spindle 11 is here shown arranged to be operatedfrom the outer side of the door as by a knob 42, while the spindle 12 isarranged to be operated from the inner side of the door by a knob 43. Topermit the opening of the door from the outside by an attendant, thespindle 12 may also be arranged, as here shown, to be actuated'from theoutside of the door by a suitable key (not shown).

It will now be noted thatone of the chief uses of the lock would be onthe doors of pay toilet rooms, and that when the room is occupied it ishighly desirable that the entrance of a SGC-OIICL person theretofrom'the outside be prevented. Means associated with the lock areaccordingly provided, and as here shown, such means comprises theprovision of a device for preventing the in, sertion of a coin in thelock until the lock has been operated by means of the spindle 12 topermit the. exit of the first person. Mounted on the member 34 at a sidethereof for tree pivotal movement about a pivot pin 44 in a planeparallel to the plate 13 is a generally crescent-shaped member 46pivoted intermediate its ends so that it may be pivotally moved betweenextreme positions to have one end or the other lie across an end of thepassage 36 to provide an obstruction to the passing of a cointherethrough. Normally, the lower end 47 is disposed across the passage36 adjacent the bottom while the upperend 48 is disposed adjacent thetop of the passage but not across it. When a coin passes downwardlythrough the passage, it displaces the end 47 of the member 46 from itsposition across the passage and thereby, through the pivotal movement ofthe member, interposes the upper end 48 across the passage to therebyclose the passage to the insertion of a coin from above. Since themovement of the coin out of the passage 36 into the latch'plateterminates its contact with the member 46, means are provided. forpositively and releasably holding the member 46 operative to maintainits closure of the passage until the insertion of another coin isdesirable.

The holding means for the member 46., it 7 47 of the member 46, such endproviding an armature 53. for themagnet, so that the member. 46 will bemagnetically held to the poles 52 upon being moved thereagainstby themovement of a coin through the-passage; as

here shown, the magnetis adjustab'ly secured:

tothe'member 34 bymeans of a clamp bar 54 and screw 56, the lower end ofthe bar 54 being utilized asthe stop for the end-47 of themember 46.:The member 46 is preferably; formed ofa light non-magnetic substancesuch as aluminum, with the armature 58 fixed on the forward face of theend 48 thereof, it

being noted that the member, when so formed, ismost readily displaceableby a coin and,

because of its resistance to corrosion, maintains its freedom ofmovement about the pivot. Furthermore, to further assure the maintenanceof the member 46in either of its extreme positions, the. mounting of themember 46, both in terms of its shape and the dis I tribution of itsweight, is preferably such that at an intermediate position it will besupport ed on its pivot in a condition ofneutral equilibrium, whereby itwill tend to stay in either of such extreme positions. In this manner,the displacement of the member 46 from its passage closing position mustbe positively accomplished, preferably, as has been hereinbeforeindicated, b' and upon movement of the spindle 12. ccordingly, an eX-tension 57 is 'hereshown provided on the member 37, Which extension,upon the opening rotation of the spmdle, s arranged to engagethe backedge 58 of the member 46 when such member is on the'magnet side ofitsposition of neutral equilibrium, whereby the engagement of thearmature 53 withthe magnet may be broken and the member 46 may berestored to'its normal position to permit the mechanism, and as hereshown suchmeans comprises the provision of a recording device 61 ofsuitable structure having a trip arm 62 thereof interposed in the pathofrthe coinsas they fall from the latch plate, following their releasefromoperative position therein.

To guide the coins against the trip, opposed.

slots 63 and 64 are provided in the plates 13 and23 respectively," theinlets of such slots being disposedat'the inner ends of the portions'33. of the guide members 27. In this manner, the coin itself causes arecord to be made by nieansof its fall into the lower por-' tion of thehousing and withoutinvolving any operation of a recording device inconnection with the inlet passage or withthe latchplate of the; lock, sothat the possibility-of.

interference of the recording device with the operation of the lockmechanism 1s reduced to a minimum.

completely enclose the lockinechanism. As

i The bolt 9 is preferably so mounted on the latch plate as to beresiliently,jrather thanfixedly, held in'extending relation therefrom,

and as here shown has the base portion 66 thereofmounted iIl'it cavity67 at the forward end of the latch plate and is'hel'd in outwardposition-by means of a spring 68 interposed between it and the. base efthe cavity. in this manner, the springingback of the latch boltfrom anycause will not move the latchcoin-receiving position is assured.

V plate and the return of the latch plate to its A lock casing member69is provided whieh is arranged to cooperate withtheplate 13 to here,shown, the member 69 providesa casing front portion 71, side portions72, a top portion 73 and a bottom portion 74, the portions v 7 2, 73 and74 being arranged to fit around t edges-of plate 13 whereby they ma btioned' with their back'edges in the planeof the back of the plate. Elieplate 13,it will be noted, is here shown 'arranged'to be fixed to 1 1the door as by screws 76, while the' member 69 is secured'to the platebymeansofs'uitable bolts 77 A door 78 is providedv in the lower portionof the casing front 71, suclr doorbeing arranged tobe locked in positionby ineans'of a key operated lock 79.- The casi I ing top 73is providedwith a' coinreceiving perforation 88 opposite the passage gfi of the.

member 34 to permit the insertionof a coin' in the passage, itxbeingnoted'that bymaking the-perforation 83 of such dimensions" to :f' Y ajust receive acoin and the-passage 36 somei what wider transverselythereof than theperforat-ion, any foreign mattenw'hich pass-es T plate.It will now he notedthat" by disposthrough' .thec'iperforation will pass"freely c' throughthepassage and so through the latch ing the passageBGand spindle-11' in the cening the pivot pin44 and screw 56 ins'ymmetrical relation at op'posite'sides'of'the axis,

providing the slots 63 and 64' at opposite ends tral vertical axis ofthe plate 13,-'positi1onof'the portions tithe guides 27 in symmetricalrelat on 'tosuch' arms, and llOvlCllllg l' proper perforationsintheplates and 23, a reversed assembly ofthe mechanism may be 'e'llected, sothat the structuremay be' /assembled foruse on either right ,orleft handopen; p

doors without change in the structure of the various parts hereindisclosed are particu ithe parts. Furthermore, it will be noted that plarly arranged to be produced by stamping them from sheet metah so thatthe manufac- T turingprocesses and costs-im olved have-been reduced to aminimum.

claim: v I

inlet] slot for a ;coin, closure means for the 1.;In a door-lock,amember providing; an

slot arranged to beset inoperative position" solely by and upon thepassage of a coin through said; slot, and means independent er thecointoreleasablyhold the closure means in operative position.

2. In a door-lock, a :memberprovidingan inlet slot for the admission of,a coin to the "look from one side thereof, closure means for the slotarranged toyb-e set in operative position solely by anduponthepassageofa, coin completelythfoughsaid slot, means independentof-the coin-to releasably hold the bclosure means in operative position,and

means operative from the other side of the lock to effect release ofsaid closure'means.

3. In a door-lock, a member providing an mletslot for a co1n,-andanormally inoperr ative pivotally mountedclosure member for the-slotarranged-to be fixedly held in its operative position independently ofsaid coin posed intermediate its operative and inopere ativepositions,and magneticmeans operable to hold said closure memberoperativelyvdisposed.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at ,Gakland,Californiginthis day of November 1926.

WALTER M. GLE'ASON.

by andupon'the passage of the coin through c said slot with said closuremember obstructwiin the intake end of the slot said member -0 a; 7

being arranged to be in neutral equilibrium Withrespect to itspivotalaxis when disposed intermediate its operative and inoperativepositions whereby it will tend to maintain its sposition WlIQH-dlSPOSGClin either of said po- 7 sitions, and meansindependent ofthe coin forreleasably holding the closure member in position to prevent insertionof a coin into said slot.

4.*In a coin-controlled door-lock, a member: providing an inlet slot fora coin,a normally inoperative closure meansfor the slot arranged to beset in operative positionto prevent full insertion of an object intosaid 'a slot by a coin passing completely through the slot, and meansincluding a magnet operative tohold the closure means n said setposition following the movement of the coin from the slot.

5. In a coin-controlled door-lock, a member providing an inlets-slot fora coin, normally inoperative/closuremeans for the slot, means interposedin the path of a coin inthe slot displaceable by the coin to operativelydispose said closure means into position to prevent insertion of anobject through the intake end of the slot, and means thereafteroperative independently of said coin to releasably hold said closuremeans in operative position.

6. In a c0in-controlled door-lock, means defining aninletpassage for, acoin, amember mounted for movement to and between apair of limitingpositions and arranged when ,in each of said positions tohave adifierent portion thereof interposed in said passage, one of saidportions When disposed in said passage being displaceable by a coin-tomove said member to the other of said limiting positions to disposetheotherof said'portions in :said passage whereby a closure isprovidedfor the intakeend of said passage to prevent the insertion of a secondcoin therein, and means independent of said coin operative to hold saidmember in position to provide a closure for the .intakegend of saidpassage.

